It's great to see this happening. When GCD first came out, I thought it was cool, but I feared that this Apple-only thing wouldn't go very far. Fortunately, Apple have realized that to get wide adoption of GCD, they would have to open-source it.

I'm a Linux user, but this also demonstrates one of the advantages of the BSD projects. Unlike Linux, which is just a kernel, FreeBSD is a whole OS distribution with tighter coupling between kernel and userspace devs. For Linux to get this, some distros devs will have to step up and port it, and I'm sure there will be some challenges getting the right hooks added to the kernel. Despite the FreeBSD folks doing most of the porting work already, I fear that it'll be a while before this starts to appear in Linux distros.

Still, it's nice to see this kind of really cool infrastructure being developed and spreading.

I'm a Linux user, but this also demonstrates one of the advantages of the BSD projects. Unlike Linux, which is just a kernel, FreeBSD is a whole OS distribution with tighter coupling between kernel and userspace devs.

I would agree with you if it was integrated into the kernel and userland all in one deft move, but they aren't doing that yet. They are looking into the performance benefits of doing that after just having ported over the library. And from the sound of it, most of the work was getting the library to speak Freebsd kernel not modifications to the kernel itself.

It's great to see this happening. When GCD first came out, I thought it was cool, but I feared that this Apple-only thing wouldn't go very far. Fortunately, Apple have realized that to get wide adoption of GCD, they would have to open-source it.

Also of note is that Apple not only open-sourced the GCD library, but it's also Apple's intention to submit blocks as an official extension to one or more of the C-based languages.

'm a Linux user, but this also demonstrates one of the advantages of the BSD projects. Unlike Linux, which is just a kernel, FreeBSD is a whole OS distribution with tighter coupling between kernel and userspace devs. For Linux to get this, some distros devs will have to step up and port it, and I'm sure there will be some challenges getting the right hooks added to the kernel. Despite the FreeBSD folks doing most of the porting work already, I fear that it'll be a while before this starts to appear in Linux distros.

That's because it's not actually that useful in the real world, just like Mono turned out to be not really all that useful.

Lot of white noise being generated here,but nothing of any real substance.

The paranoia about Mono is justified. However, while Apple is evil too, but they have a vested interest in spreading this technology and have released it under a proper FOSS license.

Being a Ph.D. student specializing in computer architecture, I have experience that tells me that something like GCD can be very helpful. It's not a slam-dunk solution, but it is a nice solution to the problem of system-wide resource allocation. Before GCD (or equivalent), parallel processing people either assumed they would have the machine to themselves, or they would have to guess about what other processes are going to be running at the same time.

You, on the other hand, seem to be making a blanket statement about GCD being useless. I'd like to know your qualifications to make that statement and your justification.

Not really, it would have been better that Apple was a minor partner in a sea of Open Source and Free Software contributor.

Apple have realized that to get wide adoption of GCD, they would have to open-source it.

Is APPLE own GCD fully Open Source ? We sadly have been down this road before with Apple, they release minor part as Open Source, where the entire complete solution is kept by them because they think the can do so.

I'm a Linux user

You mean you use GNU/Linux and the Linux kernel in some capacity. Yes, I make the distinction between casual or technologgical tool user and GNU/Linux user, because there is a real one.

but this also demonstrates one of the advantages of the BSD projects.

The fact they can't develop any new technology on there own ? Because Apple is stiffling all there technolgy advancment and stealing code for it's own advantage ?

Unlike Linux, which is just a kernel

Crap, we need to tell everyone who is employed by GNU/Linux distribution and company and project to pack it in if they are not working on the kernel ...

Must be why they relly on other people softwares userspace tool and dev tools ...

For Linux to get this, some distros devs will have to step up and port it,

Your trying to say that Apple people did this for FreeBSD ?

and I'm sure there will be some challenges getting the right hooks added to the kernel.

Your a kernel expert too now ?

Despite the FreeBSD folks doing most of the porting work already,

Why would they need to port it since MAc OS X is BSD and FreeBSD is BSD ? Do you mean both are not completely compatible and equal in the first place ?

I fear that it'll be a while before this starts to appear in Linux distros.

You failed to explain why GNU/Linux distro would need this at all.

Still, it's nice to see this kind of really cool infrastructure being developed and spreading.

Not really , it's the same old , you can have our crumb we don't feel like developing or keeping to ourselve that you can improve for us in order to get more marketshare because the project are all stiffled by Apple presence and the BSD protection clause ...

Linux kernel is developed In Open Source ...
KDE is developed in Open Source ...
Gnome is developed in Open Source ...
Apache is developed in Open Source ...

Apple GCD let's you have what they consider is worthwile for them that other projects get.

Right, point out that the OS Linux users use is more than just Linux the kernel, it's Linux plus GNU tools (plus a load of other stuff that you seem to want to ignore). Par for the course from you, nothing unexpected. But then...

"Unlike Linux, which is just a kernel"

Crap, we need to tell everyone who is employed by GNU/Linux distribution and company and project to pack it in if they are not working on the kernel ...

when someone says the same thing (that Linux is just the kernel) you argue with him? WTF. Isn't that what you were just saying?

I fear that it'll be a while before this starts to appear in Linux distros.

You failed to explain why GNU/Linux distro would need this at all.

Just as you've failed to explain why they wouldn't need it.

Not really , it's the same old , you can have our crumb we don't feel like developing or keeping to ourselve that you can improve for us in order to get more marketshare because the project are all stiffled by Apple presence and the BSD protection clause ...

Linux kernel is developed In Open Source ...
KDE is developed in Open Source ...
Gnome is developed in Open Source ...
Apache is developed in Open Source ...

Apple GCD let's you have what they consider is worthwile for them that other projects get.

OK, we get it: BSD is evil and GPL is Jesus Christ himself.

Meanwhile, in the real world, FreeBSD gets dtrace, ZFS and jails while Linux is stuck with a half-built BtrFS.

Don't get me wrong, I love Linux to bits (I use Arch as my primary OS) - but seriously, GPL isn't the saviour of software licenses. It's just one of many good licenses available.